Affordable Housing-Indian Real Estate Growth Engine

An Introduction to The Indian Real Estate Sector:

Indian real estate is expected to reach $1 Trillion by 2030 with affordable housing playing a major role in this growth. With a population that is growing at a rate of >2% (More than 2 Percent) on an average year-on-year and the low purchasing power of the majority of Indians being a significant number, meeting the 40 Million urban housing demand seemed like a distant dream at one point in time.

However, the government of India has made some important announcements to encourage the economical housing segment.
India's affordable real estate sector has been one of the fastest-growing markets.

The Affordable Housing Sector's growth has been attributed to a number of factors:

- The entry of a large number of real estate developers who are looking to explore this lucrative segment,
- The availability of financing options to home buyers,
- The country's rapid urbanization masterplan by the Modi Government 1.0 & 2.0,
- The growing emergence of nuclear families in rural and semi-urban areas; and
- The increasing income levels or purchasing capabilities of the Indian population.

Although there weren't many BFSI players willing to finance low-cost housing in the past, where now, most of the bigger players are now offering multiple tools and offers to customers in this segment of the industry.
To meet the current high demand in this segment of the real estate sector, they are positive about the business moves and are catering to the growing needs for financing a home.

Role of BFSI (Banks and NBFCs) in Growth of Real Estate in India:

Many BFSI players (banks/ NBFCs) are now in the market to offer affordable loans to those looking for affordable housing projects. Along with private banks and public sector banks, NBFCs offer loans at attractive rates and offer a wider range of options to home buyers. Their focus has been primarily on capitalizing on the growth of the affordable housing segments; keeping individual focus, and simple processes for ease-of-loan-approvals. Many Indian first-home owners are proud to have their new homes with the support of new product offerings for housing loans with lower interest rates.

Home- is it an Aspirational Need or a Security Need for Indian First-Time Home-Buyer?

People consider their homes to be their most valuable possession in India, earlier it was a security need but lately, it has transformed to be an aspirational and lifestyle need. Home buying has been and will continue to be an aspirational and security need especially father the pandemic era, and drive for Indian real estate.

Buyers, developers, and financiers have all been attracted to the economical housing arena as it makes it a very profitable proposition for them to be in. Housing finance companies have penetrated into wider geographies and opened new branches in rural, semi-rural and semi-urban Indian cities to tap the growing demand of home loan seekers. They are simplifying the process of home ownership through standardization, ease of doing business and various awareness campaigns (MICE & IEC Programs).

RBI Allowing External Commercial Lenders, Its significance and impact:

The Reserve Bank of India's decision to allow real-estate developers and housing finance companies to borrow up to $1 Billion from external commercial lenders to support and promote low-cost housing, has been a significant step. This allowed developers to obtain foreign funds (FDI in Real Estate Sector in India) and reduced the overall cost of their projects.
This step by the RBI has played the role of a positive catalyst for all those involved in the housing sector.

The central government's focus has been to empower all stakeholders involved in the process, including private developers who can support-create quality homes and provide stability without speculations in the marketplace. Post receiving the status of granted infrastructure status it saw an increase in private developers involved in facilitating economical housing projects in India.
These cumulative moves by the Government of India and RBI provided flexibility to builders and developers to obtain loans at lower rates or preferential rates, and then pass the savings on to buyers.

Impact of RERA on Indian Real Estate:

There have been many changes in Indian real estate markets since the introduction of RERA. The sector is and will be driven largely by residential housing projects over the next decade, primarily due to the increase in the Indian population and the need to possess a home. The Indian middle class, which includes the LIG/ low-income group and MIG/ middle-income group, makes up 95% of the country's population. This population has increased the demand for low-cost housing projects, whereas the supply is scarce.

This segment has a crucial attribute as a silent feature, the majority of buyers are first-time home buyers and end-users, hence the properties are not purchased for speculation purposes (mostly as an investment option or hold & resell motive). Investors may also find this format of housing projects appealing, as they are typically 25-30% cheaper than similar projects.

The government's direct involvement via PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana), and the clearly defined project specifications make affordable housing more appealing and secure for especially middle-class first-time homebuyers. Buyers in this sector have gained confidence due to strict adherence to project deadlines, a lack of manipulation opportunities, and easy possession transfer under RERA. It is also more marketable due to its smaller ticket sizes and due to the RBI's policy announcements (mentioned in reference at the end of the blogpost), resulting in the enthusiasm and participation of both private & public sector banks, and almost NBFC players to offer easy home loans, which boosts this segment's prospects for future as well.

The need for a favourable and conducive environment for various stakeholders and the much-needed subsidization of costs to accommodate the housing shortage is expected to increase with the changing aspirations of the population, especially the younger ones, the nuclearization of families, and the migration of the population in rural, semi-urban, and urban areas.

This industry is experiencing an upward trajectory due to renewed confidence in home buyers and positive sentiment toward developers as well. Numerous announcements made by the government such as lower GST rates, higher tax rebates and a higher demand for economical housing are driving an increase in disposable incomes. PMAY will see more affordable housing launches in years to come. Developers need to take advantage of the PMAY benefits to address the housing shortage in India.

"Housing for All by 2022", a scheme announced by the Indian government, allows the development of suburban areas.

It focuses on improving infrastructure and unlocking land owned by government agencies and public sector companies. Real Estate in India is on an upward trajectory, but this economical housing vertical is growing at a faster rate than other sector verticals.
It is worthwhile to acknowledge that the government's efforts in the sector have played a significant role in the ease of doing business for all stakeholders and resulting in creating an ease of living ecosystem.

The TWN Editorial Team believes that there will be real action in affordable/ economical/ low-cost housing in this period, and will drive the real estate industry's growth in India. There is huge potential for growth in the realty sector, with both existing players and new ones entering it. This is especially true in semi-urban and urban areas where large numbers of the population are looking to purchase homes at low prices.
 

Additional resources for greater clarity and deeper understanding:

What is Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY-U)?

PMAY-U, a flagship mission of the Government of India, was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) on 25 June 2015. This Mission addresses urban housing shortages among the EWS/LIG, MIG and slum dwellers. It ensures that every eligible urban household has a pucca by 2022 when India celebrates its 75th Anniversary of Independence (Amrit Mahotsav).

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), which aims to provide housing for all urban residents, was launched on 25 June 2015. It will provide pucca houses for all eligible beneficiaries by 2022. The Mission provides Central Assistance through States/Union Territories and Central Nodal Agencies to implementing agencies to provide houses to all eligible beneficiaries, based on the valid demand for houses at around 1.12 Cr. PMAY(U), has made it mandatory that the female head of the household be co-owner or owner of the house.

The following four options are available to provide more options depending on income, finances and availability of land:
1. "In-situ" Slum Redevelopment (ISSR)
2. Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS).
3. Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP).
4. Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancements (BLC).

To channel this subsidy to lending institutions and to monitor the progress of the component, NHB and HUDCO was designated as Central Nodal Agencies. In the future, Ministry could notify other institutions to be CNA.

Below are the criteria for EWS LIG MIG categories in the Scheme:
1. EWS households earning up to Rs. 3 lakhs.
2. LIG households that have an annual income of Rs. 3 lakhs to Rs. 6 lakhs.
3. MIG-I households that have an annual income of Rs. 6 lakhs to Rs. 12 lakhs.
4. MIG II households earning between Rs. 12 lakhs to Rs. 18 lakhs. With the approval from the Ministry, States/UTs can redefine the criteria for annual income to meet their local needs.

What is the procedure for releasing the Subsidy to PMAY Beneficiaries?

CNAs would release the subsidy based on PLIs disbursements to beneficiaries. The CNA will pay the subsidy to the PLI. It will then be deducted from the principal loan amount and credited to the borrower's bank account. The borrower will then pay EMI on the remaining principal loan amount.

Click Here to View A short film on 7 Years' journey of PMAY

What is RERA?
 

The Real Estate Regulation and Development Act 2016 is an Act of the Parliament of India that seeks to protect homebuyers and boost real estate investment.
The Act came into force on 1 May 2016.

RERA serves the following purpose:
1. For regulation and promotion in the Real Estate sector, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority was established.
2. Transparency in project management.
3. To safeguard the interests of consumers in the Real Estate Sector by establishing an adjudicating mechanism for speedy dispute resolution.
4. To provide accurate information about the Builder.
5. Make recommendations to the relevant Government regarding matters related to the development and promotion of the real-estate sector.

Salient features of this Act:
1. The State Real Estate Regulatory Authority is the government agency that can be contacted to resolve grievances against any builder.
2. This law gives the authority to the real estate regulator to regulate residential and commercial real property transactions.
3. Developers are required to make public all information regarding issues like project plan, layout, approvals from the government, title status, sub-contractors, and schedule for completion to the State Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
4. A developer who breaks the RERA order can be sentenced to a maximum of three years in jail, with or without a penalty.
5. The developer is not liable for delays in a project. The law now makes it clear that if a project is delayed, the developer will be liable for the same interest as the EMI paid by the bank to the consumer.
6. Without written consent from the buyer, the developer cannot alter the plan.
7. Any project that exceeds 500 square meters or has more than eight apartments must be registered with RERA.

DownLoad RERA  E-Book on Best Practices

What is Carpet Area?
The actual area for laying the carpet is the space enclosed by the walls. This does not include the thicknesses of the inner walls.

Who are Primary Lending Institutions
Primary lending institutions are Scheduled Commercial Banks and Housing Finance Companies, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), State Cooperative Banks, Urban Cooperative Banks and any other institution that may be identified by MoHUA. 

Think With Niche Readers can also explore the below perspective, which will help understand the Low-cost housing subject in depth with three more countries taken into account. The future of Indian cities will drive demand for affordable/ low-cost residential projects and will always be a Growth Driver for Real Estate Sector...

Affordable Housing in India:

The Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India have taken a variety of measures to increase affordable housing. While loan disbursements and launches of new affordable housing projects have increased sharply in 2016-17 as well, there was a rise in non-performing housing loans, especially for those in the lower levels of home loans. The credit-linked subsidy scheme proved to be effective in increasing housing affordability for economically less fortunate sections. However, the unlocking of urban land is a significant challenge for the sector's future development.

Also Read: Boxes For Your Small Business At The Lowest Prices

Introduction to Real Estate in India: 

Rapid urbanization in India has created development challenges such as urban congestion, pressure on basic amenities, water sanitation, and, most importantly, severe housing shortages, particularly in low-income areas. Private players and real estate developers tend to concentrate on high-income and middle-income segments because they offer higher returns. Low-cost housing projects have become less appealing to private investors and developers due to issues such as high land costs, delays in project approvals and rising raw material costs. The government of India recently took major steps to address this gap in demand and supply. These initiatives were complemented by several measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India.
This second perspective of the article aims to examine various aspects of affordable housing in light of the increasing attention given to affordable housing in recent years. The explanation below can be divided into International and Indian ecosystems and policies implemented towards developing a favourable marketplace for low-cost housing growth and the international experience with affordable residential housing policy design.
The focus is on the need for low-cost residential projects and the steps taken to support this sector by the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India. Here we will also explore an empirical assessment of the effect of the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLUS) on home affordability.
At the end of the article, we will highlight the main challenges facing India's low-cost/affordable housing vertical in the real estate sector.

The International Experience:

Internationally, there are several methods that can be used to determine housing affordability.
i. Housing Cost Burden or Expenditure Method. This is the ratio of housing expenses to household income that is used to determine affordability. Housing expenditure includes all costs associated with housing, including rents, mortgage repayments, utility bills, and maintenance costs. If the ratio falls below a certain cut-off value, housing units can be considered affordable. This cut-off value is subjective. However, 30% is a good rule of thumb.
ii. Median Multiple Indicator. This method divides the median house price by the median household income to determine housing affordability. Demographia International, a survey organization that conducts surveys across countries to find affordable housing, uses a price-to-income ratio of below 3 to classify housing units as affordable.
iii. Housing and Transport (H+T). To measure affordability, transport costs are included in this method along with housing costs. The idea behind this is that increased congestion in cities has caused an increase in the number of people living far from the city centre, which has led to an increase in commute times and costs (Hamidi and co., 2016). Since the year 2000, housing prices around the globe showed an increasing trend.
This trend was temporarily interrupted by the 2008-09's global financial crisis.
India's nominal house-price index grew at the fastest pace. Different countries have taken targeted actions to provide economical residential habitats for economically weaker groups because of this incidence. The lessons learned from these experiences can be useful in this regard.

Below are the policies of select countries to help ensure TWN readers understand housing affordability and associated factors...

The United States of America Experience:

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in the United States, defines low-cost/affordable housing according to the expenditure approach. In America, housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30% of the household's income.
It is estimated that 12 million households are renters and homeowners. They spend more than 50% of their annual income on housing and have difficulty obtaining basic necessities like food, clothing, transport, and medical care.
Both the federal government and the states sponsor low-cost/affordable housing programs in the US, they are:
i. The Housing Choice Voucher programme (HCV) allows the HUD to disburse funds to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), in order to provide rental subsidies for eligible families. A family can receive no more than the standard rent1 plus 30% of their monthly adjusted income. It involves agreements between the participants, viz. tenants, landlords, and PHAs. The number of HCV-infected households with high housing costs has increased 52% from 517 655 in 2003 to 786 958 in 2015. This is due to variations in income and housing market cycles. (HUD 2017, 2017).
ii. Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), was created in 1986 to provide affordable rental housing. This program provides tax credits for developers of low-cost/affordable housing projects, subject to occupancy and restricted rents that benefit low-income households.
This project was responsible for putting in service 30,693 housing units and 2,3 Million projects between 1995 and 2015. The LIHTC projects had a positive effect on low-income areas and improved welfare for renters and homeowners (Diamond et. al., 2015).

The Australia Experience:

The proportion of households in Australia that are facing housing stress has increased from 15.4% in 2007-08, to 17.7% in 2013-14.
Low-cost/affordable housing programs are offered by the federal and state governments as rental and home ownership assistance to address the housing crisis. The Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA), and the National Rental Affordability Schemes (NRAS) are federal programs that aim to lower rental costs by at least 20% of market rates for eligible households.
NRAS is a supply-side intervention that provides housing developers and housing providers with financial incentives for up to 10 years. This allows them to rent affordable housing to the public. CRA, on the other hand, is a demand-side intervention that provides rental assistance to eligible households in the form of non-taxable income transfers.
In 2015-16, the federal and state governments invested approximately US$10 Million in low-cost/affordable housing. Unlike CRA or NRAS, which only provide rental affordability, the Housing Authority offers both home and rental ownership.

The China Experience:

China's first urban housing units were built in 1978 and distributed by public employers. A series of reforms have been made to market-orientate the housing sector since then (Xue 2013, 2013).
The Chinese government currently provides low-cost/affordable housing by providing subsidised loans to homeowners and affordable rentals through three main programs:
i. The Economic and Comfortable Housing program provides land subsidised to developers so that they can sell housing units at discounted rates to low and middle-income families. The government regulates the construction of such housing and their profit margins. The share of housing covered by ECH in the total housing stock was 3.4% in 2010.
ii. The Housing Provident Fund Scheme requires that both employers and employees contribute a percentage of their salaries to a bank owned by the state. The employee may then receive a low-cost loan for housing from the fund to help them own their home.
iii. The government offers rental assistance for low-income families under the Cheap Rental Housing program. According to country experience, the government's approach to low-cost/affordable housing is similar in each country. It also stimulates market participants.

There are two main types of Government policies: supply side and demand side interventions.
The supply side measures are designed to encourage developers and investors to build low-cost/affordable housing/residential projects. However, the demand-side measures offer incentives for households through rental and mortgage-based subsidies.

The Indian Experience:

India needs economical/low-cost/affordable urban housing. According to the estimation and management of Urban Housing Shortage (2012), India has a large gap between the demand for urban housing and the supply. 96% of India's housing shortage was attributed to the economically poorer (EWS) as well as the low-income group (LIG & also with middle-income group MIG).
McKinsey (2010) estimates that India will see 40% of its population live in semi-urban and urban areas, with major cities having a million or more people. According to the McKinsey Report (2010), India's demand for low-cost residential projects will rise to 38 Million units by 2030.
Initiatives to Encourage Low-cost/Affordable Housing, although efforts have been made for years to provide Low-cost housing (National Housing Policy 1994; Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission 2005; Rajiv Awas Yojana 2013, 2013), the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 2015 gives a new impetus; The PMAY-Urban (PMAY-U) combines all urban housing schemes previously implemented and aims to achieve "Housing for All by 2022".

PMAY-U envisages addressing 20 Million of the housing shortage.

The Union Budget FY 2017-18 announced many measures to increase low-cost/affordable housing, some of the pointers are:
i. Low-cost/Affordable housing is made possible by infrastructure status;
ii. Increased time is taken to complete projects for economical/affordable housing promoters, from three to five years earlier;
iii. Developers are allowed to defer paying tax on notional rental income earned on units that have been sold but are still being built for a year.
iv. Reduce the tenure to achieve long-term capital gains in low-cost housing by reducing it from three years to two years
v. Revisions to the qualifying criteria for economical housing, from the saleable area to the carpet area
vi. Announcement of a new CLSS (MIG) with a provision in excess of 1,000 Crores.
vii. Refinancing facility provided by National Housing Bank (NHB), for individual loans to the low-cost housing vertical.

The Central government is not the only one encouraging affordable housing. Some State Governments, including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, offer rebates on stamp duties on housing for EWS and low- and middle-income groups. These incentives will encourage growth in India's low-cost housing sector by providing tax benefits, subsidies, tax benefits, and, most importantly, institutional financing. Developers will be able to access funds through a variety of channels including foreign portfolio investors, Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCI), and External Commercial Borrowings (ECB).

To promote low-cost housing, the RBI has taken a variety of policy measures.
First, in July 2014, the RBI defined affordable housing loans as eligible under priority sector lending, as also housing loans to individuals up to `50 lakhs for houses of values up to `65 lakhs located in the six metropolitan centres (Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad) and `40 lakhs for houses of values up to `50 lakhs in other centres for purchase/construction of dwelling unit per family. It also allowed banks to issue long-term bonds of a minimum of 7 years to finance low-cost/affordable housing loans.
These bonds were exempted from the calculation of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC). The RBI granted home loans of up to 90% to banks for properties with a maximum value of Rs. 30,000. In October 2015, the RBI modified the risk-weight and provisioning norms for home loans in order to make them more affordable. It reduced the standard asset provisioning for housing loans from 0.4% to 0.25% on June 7, 2017.
The RBI's Monetary Policy Statement for October 2017 stated that a faster rollout of low-cost/affordable housing programmes with single-window clearances and rationalisation by state governments of high stamp duties can help support growth.

CLSS Impact on Housing Affordability:

An Empirical Study In this section, we attempt to examine the effect of CLSS on housing affordability in India.
CLSS offers an interest subsidy which reduces housing costs. It is anticipated that more affordable housing units will be made available with the implementation of CLSS. Housing affordability can be measured in terms of monthly housing costs (such as EMI or cost price) and annual income. However, this analysis uses the latter approach.
This exercise calculates the affordability of housing units across four categories - EWS/LIG, MIG-I, and MIG-II- for about 50 cities in two scenarios.
1. Accessibility without the benefit of CLSS
2. CLSS offers the opportunity to save money.

This is why an Affordability Measure (AM) is used to measure the affordability of housing units.
According to the expenditure approach, AM refers to the ratio of monthly income to housing costs. A house is considered affordable if AM is less than 30%. A lower AM means higher affordability.
Housing costs may include mortgage repayments and property taxes. However, it is assumed here that it only includes monthly mortgage repayments (EMI) or equated monthly instalments (MIP).
The household's EMI to income ratio is called AM. These figures indicate that affordable homes with AM 30% are found in many cities. This is consistent with the idea that a higher income will lead to greater affordability.
CLSS is effective in making housing affordable for the EWS. CLSS made housing affordable in over 20 cities for EWS, compared to 5 cities that did not have CLSS. However, CLSS's impact on making housing affordable for the LIG/MIG segments is much less. CLSS's effectiveness in increasing housing affordability for the EWS should be given priority in policy design.

Methodology for Building AM: Affordability Measure

Data used here is from NHB-RESIDEX to estimate AM. NHB offers Housing Price Indices (HPIs) for different cities in India under two headings HPI@Assessment prices and HPI@Market Prices. Assessment Prices are data that banks and HFCs use to value properties, while Market Prices are data that market surveys can provide for projects under construction.
Since it will affect the lending and valuation done by banks/HFCs, and the subsidy under CLSS, we have taken the CAP under HPI@Assessment prices. CAP is calculated per square foot. The basis for three different segments of housing units whose areas fall within the following range: 646 to 646 sq. ft. (60 sq.m. ), 646-1184 sq. ft. (60-110 sq.m.) 1184 sq. ft. (110 sq.m.). This was in accordance with the PMAY eligibility criteria for different types of beneficiaries.
The second step is to multiply CAP by the carpet area of the house. Assumed here, the carpet area of the house represents the maximum amount that the beneficiary could use under PMAY.
After computing the housing cost, the third step is to calculate the maximum housing loan a household can receive under each category. This is done by multiplying the housing costs with the appropriate loan-to-value (LTV) ratio.
There will be a difference in the effective loan amount for borrowers with and without CLSS. Because the Government pays the interest subsidy upfront, the CLSS borrower's loan amount will be lower than the CLSS borrowers.
The household's monthly EMI is calculated assuming that the term of the loan is 20 years as permitted under PMAY and that there is an 8.35% uniform interest rate, which is currently offered by many banks. The fifth step calculates the monthly income of the household based on income eligibility as defined under PMAY.
EWS is a category that includes households earning up to 35,000 per month. For the calculation of AM, the monthly income of EWS is assumed to be 25,000. `3 lakh/12. The ratio of EMI (calculated in step 4) to monthly income (calculated in step 5) is used to calculate AM. A housing unit considered affordable is one where AM is less than 30%. This calculator calculates AM for both CLSS and unCLSS scenarios. Conceptually, AM with CLSS should be lower than AM without CLSS. A higher difference means a greater impact on affordability

Indian Perspective on Low-cost Housing Issues and Challenges:

Through its connection to other industrial sectors, low-cost housing can help accelerate a country's economic growth. The output multipliers for residential construction are higher than those of other sectors such as agriculture, electricity and trade, railways, communication and BFSI. Despite the fact that residential construction has a largely informal nature, its direct employment linkage coefficient is the highest of all sectors.
Recent government policy measures, such as Government incentive schemes, the accordance of infrastructure tag and the interest subsidy schemes in PMAY have led to a sharp increase in housing projects in the low-cost segment (LIG/MIG). Both buyers and end-users see the affordability of credit as driving demand for low-cost housing.

Although the RBI and the Indian Government have made positive efforts to increase the pace of low-cost housing, there are many factors that affect the pace of development and limit participation in the private sector, they are:
A. Lack of suitable low-cost land within the city limits;
B. Lengthy statutory clearance and approval process;
C. Shortcomings in development norms, planning and project design;
D. Lack of participation of large organised real estate players due to low-profit margins;
E. High cost of funds for construction finance making the projects unviable;
F. Lack of a suitable mechanism for maintenance;
G. Challenges in beneficiary selection; and
I. Capacity constraint or inadequate capacity of the implementing agencies. Unless the above challenges are addressed, creating two crore homes may be a distant dream.

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Key References:

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) (2009), "What Impact will the National Rental Affordability Scheme have upon Housing Affordability?", AHURI Research & Policy Bulletin, Issue 108, January.
Cushman & Wakefield (2017), Sector Overview Residential: Q1 2017. Deloitte (2016), Mainstreaming Affordable Housing in India Moving towards Housing for All by 2022, August.
Diamond, R. and McQuade, T. (2015), "Who Wants Affordable Housing in Their Backyard? An Equilibrium Analysis of Low Income Property Development" Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Hamidi, S., Ewing, R. and Renne, J. (2016), "How Affordable is HUD Affordable Housing?" Housing Policy Debate.
Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) (2016), The Report on Mortgage Market in India, March.
McKinsey Global Institute (2010), India's Urban Awakening: Building Inclusive Cities, Sustaining Economic Growth, April. Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (2012), Report of Technical Group (TG-12) on Estimation of Urban Housing Shortage.
NCAER (2014), Impact of Investments in the Housing Sector on GDP and Employment in the Indian Economy, April. Reserve Bank of India (2014), Circular- Issue of Long Term Bonds by Banks- Financing of Infrastructure and Affordable Housing, July.
Reserve Bank of India (2016), Circular-Investment by a Foreign Venture Capital Investor (FVCI) registered under SEBI (FVCI) Regulations, 2000, October.
Reserve Bank of India (2017), Circular- Individual Housing Loans: Rationalisation of Risk-Weights and Loan to Value (LTV) Ratios, June.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2017), Rent Burden in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, October.
Xue. X. (2013), "Affordable Housing in China- A Case Study in Datong", Masters Dissertation submitted to Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, July.

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